Seeing Over the Next Peak

Every person has a unique circumstance and more importantly - a Story to Be Told. Stories to Be Told is a feature series from?The Narrative Playbook ?that will?showcase our narrators? and their journey to craft a new narrative.

Today's narrator is?Kerry Twibell . Kerry came to The Narrative Playbook via a recommendation from one of our cohorts. She had recently left MediaLink after six years as an Executive Vice President consulting with Global 1000 companies. Kerry had also just become a mom for the first time. All in the middle of COVID. Hence, her desire to continue her career development, pursue a sense of life balance and survive a virus was a new kind of complex challenge that many of us know all too well.

The following interview speaks to Kerry's experience going through?The Narrative Playbook Guided Narrative Development ?program and how that has impacted her life over the last several months.

“I expected to walk into a 'share your strengths' - type program where peers would provide external feedback on my professional story and help refine it.”

How has your new narrative positively impacted you over the last several months?

The idea of looking at life experiences as chapters with beginnings, middles, and ends is a concept that may seem obvious, but I hadn't exactly viewed?my life through that lens.?The Narrative Playbook gave me clarity in determining?what I wanted to take with me and what I wanted to shed before moving on to the next chapter. I developed a?prism through which I now view all new opportunities. Do they align with my goals and desires? It's a clarity of thinking that I didn't have prior.

What are some of the biggest changes you have incorporated into your life as a result?

I moved through a number of life changes just before starting with The Narrative Playbook. Family changes, professional changes, and of course, a global pandemic. Nothing like the world turning upside down to?force some introspection into one's life! I used the slower pace of life to give myself permission?to reflect. For those of us who are always?focused on what's ahead, reflection is a very unnatural exercise.?

The Narrative Playbook process taught me how to exercise reflection and narrative development as a muscle. Similar to waking up and working out, this is a life habit that's now integrated into my daily routine.?

What was the most surprising outcome from The Narrative Playbook experience??

I was most surprised with the universality of our experience. I was humbled to participate in The Narrative Playbook with accomplished people from different backgrounds also working to tell their stories. We were all on different journeys, yet our challenges and the breakthroughs were universal. Our experience reminded me of a "game" I played at a professional event years ago. There were twenty participants, everyone closed their eyes, and we had to count to twenty out loud with each person saying a number. If two people spoke at the same time, we had to restart. Remarkably, the group counted to twenty flawlessly on the third try. We'd tapped into some universal awareness. Amazing! I felt the same way with?my?The Narrative Playbook cohort - we all managed to move through the process in unison, even though our paths were different.?

The Narrative Playbook process uses design thinking, and as a trained engineer, I had initial reservations about how it was all going to work. But of course, the road ahead is not a straight line. The process elicited great insights. At times I thought I wasn't making any progress, and then all of a sudden, everything clicked. Toby and Rob, The Narrative Playbook's co-founders, were so supportive. They were a great mix of coach and clarifier (e.g. "I heard you say x, have you thought of y") to elicit the crux of the narrative from each member of the cohort.?

"The Narrative Playbook process involves unpacking and repackaging elements of your story and identifying what makes it uniquely yours."

How are you expressing yourself differently now that you have a new narrative??

I'm now much crisper in my elevator pitch and the articulation of what I want.

This process taught me that articulation?of your story is not necessarily a chronology of your background.?In my case, I have strategic planning and business development experience, and I spent twelve years as an operator and six as a consultant. Before The Narrative Playbook, I don't think I was sure of exactly how to bring all?of those elements together.?

A breakthrough for me came about halfway into the program, where I landed on the concept of a "sherpa", thanks to an observation by Rob. Sherpas enjoy climbing, seeing over the next peak, and starting the journey over from the bottom. And they bring others along the way. I love to ski and hike, so the mountain metaphor really resonated with me. I've brought it front and center with the business I started with an ex-colleague. We're bringing our clients on the journey over their next peak, advising on how positioning and refining their narrative will accelerate?growth.?

Personal is intertwined with professional and it feels very authentic.?

"Thanks to The Narrative Playbook, I came out with much clearer focus and confidence to shape my own story - adding and shedding as appropriate - to put me on a path for life's next chapter.“

What key insight would you give others who may want to consider going through The Narrative Playbook experience???

Give yourself permission to reflect and consider why your narrative is important and why it deserves to be told. It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. Working on your narrative is a practical and gratifying endeavor.

But to see the results, you have to "just get started". Perfection is the enemy of good. You'll never find the "perfect" time to start this work, nor will you find the most choice words right out of the gate. You're always evolving. Life is dynamic, and your narrative will evolve. It's meant to evolve.?

The frameworks you develop in The Narrative Playbook will evolve with you. You'll develop skills that you'll be able to carry forward with you. That's empowering.

We are honored to have worked with Kerry and it is rewarding to see what has transpired since designing her new narrative. It is so exciting to see how she has combined her operational and consulting backgrounds into a new business that embraces those skillsets and allows her to perform in her zone of genius. Her advisory firm, AQ Strategic helps companies see over their next peak by connecting their message to the levers that drive growth. They advise tech, media, and consumer brands on content and commercial strategy.